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February 03, 2005

Kota Gelanggi

They found a long lost city in Johor. And all historians can't even begin to speak about the possible implications. Could the city really predate Borobudur and Angkor Wat? Could it really be the Kota Gelanggi alluded to in Sejarah Melayu? All history books on the history of the Malay people may become obsolete, and some of the theories which are at the moment on the periphery of historical discourse may be validated.

Could Kota Gelanggi be yet another kingdom that vied with Sri Vijaya and early polities for the position as the inheritor of the ancient Melayu kingdom? Or could it be just another Sri Vijayan capital before the flowering of Palembang? An inscription in Southern India enumerates a list of kingdoms that were pillaged and attacked by the Chola kings. Which one of them was Gelanggi? What kind of people lived in Gelanggi? Were they even ethnically Malay? Or only had cultural allegiance to the long-lost kingdom of Melayu? Did they know the joys of ulam and belacan?

How blessed I am to live during such exciting times. Hopefully they'll unearth some answers in my lifetime.

Since archived articles on The Star on-line are not always available, I have shamelessly cut and pasted the following articles from The Star on February 3rd. Enjoy reading. Just ignore that unworthy remark about the Melaka Sultanate being the start of modern Malay history.

Lost city believed found in Johor

BY TEOH TEIK HOONG and AUDREY EDWARDS

PETALING JAYA: A 1,000-year-old lost city, possibly older than Angkor Wat in Cambodia and Borobudur in Indonesia, is believed to have been located in the dense jungles of Johor.

The discovery of what is thought to be the site of Kota Gelanggi or Perbendaharaan Permata (Treasury of Jewels) by an independent Malaysian researcher has prompted museum officials to plan an expedition to confirm the finding.

If indeed the site is that of the lost city , it is set to transform the historical landscape of the region, said Raimy Che-Ross, who spent 12 years researching Malay manuscripts all over the world and conducting aerial searches of the area before locating the site.

He said the discovery of “unusual formations” from the air had led him to believe that the site could be the first capital of the Sri Vijaya Malay empire dating back to 650AD.

“If the city is what we suspect it to be, then the Malacca Sultanate can no longer be considered as the start of modern Malay history.

“Once verified, the honour will go to Johor, as one thousand years ago Malacca had not even been established,” he said.

Raimy had tried to enter the site in early 2003 but failed, managing to get only as far as to the formations which are believed to be trenches and embankments of the outer city.

Department of Museum and Antiquities director-general Datuk Adi Taha said an archaeological expedition would be mounted this year to verify the location of the lost city, with Raimy’s assistance.

Funds for the expedition would be sought under the 9th Malaysia Plan.

Adi said he and the department were very enthusiastic about Raimy’s research findings and would work with him to verify the location of the lost city, which could be spread out over a few hundred square kilometres.

Museum hopes Johor will assist in lost city quest

KUALA LUMPUR: Museum officials are hoping that the Johor government will assist in efforts to verify the location of Kota Gelanggi.

Department of Museums and Antiquities director-general Datuk Dr Adi Taha said Johor would also be asked to preserve the area for research.

He said the National Museum would work with Raimy Che-Ross, an independent Malaysian researcher, to mobilise an expedition to verify the site of Kota Gelanggi.

According to Raimy, he was told that the museum had earlier sent teams to locate the site but had failed each time.

The most recent attempt saw their boat capsizing thrice, leading the team to abandon the mission.

Adi said his department would also work with the State Heritage Foundation on this, as it would have knowledge of the area, he said.

He said the search for Kota Gelanggi had been an ongoing endeavour for many scholars and researchers since the days of the British Empire.

“They never did find it as our history did not give any exact whereabouts of the city.

“Even Tun Seri Lanang (the Bendahara – equivalent to a modern day prime minister) did not state the location in Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals),” he added.

He said archaeologists hoped to find evidence of physical structures and also a fairly advanced irrigation system, which used to exist in the city.

“A big city would have good infrastructure such as irrigation to sustain its inhabitants.

“We also expect and hope to find Sri Vijaya artefacts from the site similar to those found in Gua Chawas in Kelantan,” he added.

Adi said the public should not attempt to enter the site to look for artefacts and treasure as it was an offence under the Antiquities Act 1976.

“Anyone found doing so can be fined or jailed,” he said.

On the expedition, Adi said that due to the inaccessibility of the site, the team would have to plan very thoroughly before attempting to enter the dense jungles

Manuscript leads to lost city

PETALING JAYA: It was an old Malay manuscript once owned by Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore, in a London library that led Raimy Che-Ross to the existence of the lost city in Johor.

According to Raimy, the presence of a lost city in the jungles at the southern end of the Malay peninsula had been indicated in Malayan forklore for over four centuries.

His findings on the lost city has been published in the latest issue of Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 2004.

In his paper, he said the place was raided by the Indian-Chola conqueror Raja Rajendra Cholavarman I, of the South Indian Chola Dynasty in 1025A.D.

The ruins could be as old as Borobodur, and could pre-date Angkor Wat, Raimy said, adding that aerial photographs taken over the site and tales from the orang asli had indicated the existence of structures.

“From the air I could see formations which looked like a set of double-walls, protecting the inner city.

“I have verified all the information by reviewing and reassessing old colonial records and travellers tales,” he said.

Information on Kota Gelanggi appears in the Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals) which was edited and revised by Tun Seri Lanang, the Bendahara (equivalent to the prime minister of a sultanate) of the Royal Court of Johor in 1612 A.D.

The manuscript narrated an account of the devastating raids by Raja Rajendra Cholavarman I, who after destroying the city of Gangga Negara (now Beruas in Lower Perak) turned his attention to Kota Gelanggi.

Raimy said he did not expect to find in Kota Gelanggi structures similar to Angkor Wat, as the lost city in Johor Gelanggi was much older.

“Based on the data I have collected and consultations with archaeologists over the years, it is believed that Kota Gelanggi in Johor, which some scholars believe to be the kingdom of Lo-Yue, was also the first centre of trade for Sri Vijaya.

“It was in Johor that the whole Malay civilisation was born. The Sri Vijaya site in Palembang has artefacts which date back to the 13th or 14th century,” he said.

“There is a wealth of information we can derive from this city.

He said that official Japanese records noted that an Imperial Crown Prince of Japan, Prince Takaoka, Shinnyo Hosshinno, reportedly met his death in Lo-Yue after being attacked by a tiger. Perhaps we may find his tomb here,” he said.

Raimy said that while its main activity was a trading post, Kota Gelanggi was also a centre of sacred learning.

“Hinduism and Buddhist statues and figurines may exist but what I hope to find is epigraphic inscriptions (writings on granite),” he added.

Thanks so much for the link to MGG Pillai's take on the discover, KNizam.

MGG Pillai airs some concerns which did cross my mind, of which:

1) as is the case with ANY archaeological finds, there would always be concerns that the findings or conclusions therefrom might be politicised. Mussolini was known for ordering ancient Roman ruins to Istria secretly to justify his actions of incorporating that part of the world into greater Italy. In the case of Gelanggi, the worst thing that can happen is that the findings are twisted to fit any interested party's political, religious and racial agenda, AT THE EXPENSE OF HISTORY.

2) i didn't think much of The Star's apparent monopoly on information concerning the site, but yes, Mr Pillai may be on to something. Or maybe not.

3) it did cross my mind: what if some money-grabbing tycoon or govt officials take advantage of this, desecrating the archeological site at teh expense of the Malaysian public and future generations?

Like Mr Pillai, I have NEVER subscribed to the view that the history of Malaysia, let alone the history of the Malay people, began with Melaka. What absolute poppycock.

I also agree with the view that, in modern Malaysia, most people are only interested in making money. Hoping that this finding would stimulate interest in history may be a bit on the optimistic side.

I may be misjudging Mr Pillai in what I'm about to write (and I stand corrected if that is the case), but Mr Pillai has always struck me as, for lack of a better word, "anti-Malay". The tone he employs when writing about the Malays' Indian heritage, for instance, seems peppered with disdain. I'm quoting from his article:

"To this day, when a Malay considers anything important, he looks for a Sanskrit word to describe it: It is the Sanskrit pradana mantri (the Malay perdana mentri) here while in another Malay land, it is Penghulu ng Pilipina for its president. The Proton car model names are from Sanskrit whilst the Perodua resorts to Malay names and is a poor and inferior to be bought only because the Proton is beyond one's means."

First of all, I'm not even sure if "Penghulu" is a sanskrit word. ("Hulu" in sanskrit means "ram", AFAIK. In malay "hulu" refers to the head or source or upstream. A case of similar sounding words which are unrelated?) But anyway, what are we supposed to make of this remark? That there is nothing in the Malay culture and language that is worthy and capable of describing "high" and beautiful things? and that without the "civilising" influence of India, the Malays would have been a culturally empty people? and even if this is true, should one then conclude that because of this, the Malays are a "lesser" people? I beg to disagree.

fazu,
thanx for putting this up in your blog.
personally i never believe melaka is the start of the malays...
well at least for me i am really sure it did not start from melak lah! my susur-galur is a mix of java and southern siam....the real fact is my really close ancestors (atuk & moyang) really came from those places! not too malaysian huh?!!
and if ever hang tuan and the gang existed, i am all for hang jebat....the rest of the gang are (sorry to say) suckerx!!!

This post rawks! like it. I was wondering if they could come up with a book or perhaps a documentary on it? Would die to buy one of the books or so... are there any groups we can keep ourselves updated? this is cool...

radnexus: do you know real talent or u r being 'sarcastically' superficial? ;-)

(just visited your site. such cool effects! have to learn how to do that too.)

i'm not aware of any groups that you can join to keep being updated on developments re: kota gelanggi, but if you are interested in Malaysian history, you may want to check out this site www.sabrizain.org/malaya.

So what's the story next? Excavation? How will it be conducted? How may percent will become 'Duit Kopi'? After that will the artifacts goes to Museum Negara? Then how to preserve it? Will it be the same result as the 'Ship Museum' at Melaka (it's a disaster)? Then what happen to Kota Gelanggi? Become a tourism spot? Building eating space, souvenir shop, Ramly burger stall, cendol stall around it? After a few months, the heat subsides, everything back to normal, Kota Gelanggi becoming nothing but a dumping place, or Aedes breeding ground. The colourful stalls will be deserted and becoming AIDS breeding ground.

Yes, i'm kind of worried. Historical and Archeological conservation is not part of our cultural.

arthur: welcome to the site! very good question. I've been speaking to some people "close" to raimy (as in his acquiantances) and apparently work is under way, though knowing how things work in malaysia most probably at a snail's pace. let's hope they get somewhere soon though.

I was working in Johore some twenty years ago. To be precise, Kota Tinggi.

I suspected that there were some ancient cities.

I was thinking that one or two might be somewhere near Johore Lama, Teluk Sengat area. Most of the ships plying in that area had to pass by Tanjung Remunia.
The mouth of the Johore River would not have been the same as it is now. So, what is inland might have been the coast.

Lets be with and open mind. For our future generation of the Malayan Archipelago and the world at large the Kota Gelanggi project should not be abandoned.

We may have "rested" with 1400 (Malacca) for what was available then and it has remained static.

Now that new discoveries are coming forth the future generation should not be denied the truth.

I went on my own to Bujang Valley with the help of two Kedah residents on 7th to 9th July and admire the authorites doing their best to restore the trove of treasures and other findings there.

Bujang Valley and the surrounding neighbourhood may expose more findings and put Malaysia as an advanced country of that era.

I congratulate the local universities in Malaysia and the government including the neighbouring residents who are painstakingly recovering and restoring the treasured buildings for the future generation and the world at large.

Congratulation Malaysia. Keep up the progress. I shall be, as an admirer be visiting this area to see the progress and shall the information with friends and relatives.

Of course it exists...its documentations by the British, Indians and our own Orang Aslis are significant...

But with our Hitler like Islamo Malay government....they have to shelve the discovery of huge Hindu and Buddhist symbols...that will make Parameswara's conversion by Indian Muslims irrelevant. thereby knocking the roots of the socio-political establishment.

In short the constitution may not stand the onslaught of a discovery that shows up a temple far larger then Borobudur and Angkor Wat. Would suggest Malaysian bloggers, archaeologists, historians, adventurers, fund themselves and make their discovery on their own and report it to the BBC, National Geographic and CNN. This has incredible historical and potential tourist value....

This government’s days are numbered anyway. Gestapo like misbehavior will not be tolerated by the information age and new media. Hiding will hasten is fall. A Hindu Johore was the start of Malay civilization. All Malays in this world were Hindu first